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Episode 6: Teens Need to Learn to Self-Regulate, with Sheila Jenkins

January 25, 2017

Dr. Sheila Jenkins is a pediatric neurologist at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco. She has broad expertise in neurological conditions affecting children, with specific interest in the diagnosis and management of developmental delay, epilepsy and seizures, headaches, concussions, and movement disorders. Dr. Jenkins is passionate about helping families to understand the root cause of their child’s condition and working together with them to find the best solution to help them improve. While traditional therapies may be pharmacologic, she is also a strong advocate of non-pharmacologic approaches wherever applicable. She has seen a shift in her practice through the last 16 years, with increasing numbers of conditions that are exacerbated by excess stress and decreased self care.

Dr. Jenkins grew up as a military brat, traveling with her family in Asia before ultimately settling in her home state of MS. She received her MD at the University of South Alabama and completed Residency in Pediatrics, followed by a Residency and Fellowship in Neurology and Child Neurology at UCSF. Dr. Jenkins and her husband co-founded the Roatan Volunteer Pediatric Clinic in Roatan, Honduras, which has provided care for 30,000+ patients to date through the work of 250+ volunteers. She has also served for 14 years on the Board of Directors of the non-profit Global Healing, working to help improve access to high quality healthcare in developing countries worldwide. Dr. Jenkins cared for patients at Children’s Hospital Oakland and California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco prior to taking her current position at UCSF. She currently sees patients in UCSF’s multi-specialty outreach clinics in Pleasanton and Fremont.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • The difficulty teens have managing technology, self-regulation, and dealing with increased expectations in academics and competitive sports
  • How much sleep teens really need
  • Why teens need time away from screens, especially before bed
  • Why increasing homework is an unfortunate shift in the education system
  • Why focusing on a single sport isn’t the best thing to do
  • Why parents aren’t great at providing the boundaries their children need
  • The types of patients that Sheila is focusing on right now
  • What teens should be doing to deal with personal stress
  • What parents need to be paying attention to in their teens’ lives
  • Why it’s so important for teens to get outside more
  • Recommended books, films, and apps

Resources: